The trustee of the Ockham Pension Scheme has completed a £110m buy-in with Just Group, securing the benefits of around 700 members in the scheme.

The trustee worked "closely" with the scheme sponsor, LV=, on the deal, which marks the third buy-in completed by a pension scheme sponsored within LV=, following the £40m full buy-in with Rothesay of the Teachers Assurance Group Pension Scheme in 2019, and the conversion of the LV= Employee Pension Scheme’s longevity swap into a £800m buy-in with Standard Life in 2020.

LCP was appointed as specialist de-risking adviser to the trustee, with Redington providing investment advice on the asset transfer.

A&O provided transaction legal advice and Eversheds provided further advice to LV=, while Just was advised by Pinsent Masons.

Ockham Pension Scheme chair and Bestrustees director, Huw Evans, highlighted the deal as an “excellent achievement for the scheme”.

“Securing member benefits under the buy-in insurance policy, regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), gives additional layers of protection to members and effectively removes investment and other demographic risks from the scheme,” he continued.

“Our advisers, LCP, A&O, Hymans and Redington worked collaboratively to run an efficient process and drive the project to a successful conclusion.”

Adding to this, LV= chief financial officer, Stephen Percival, said: “This transaction is another important step in reducing our DB pension scheme funding risks, which further enhances the stability and quality of LV’s capital surplus.

“The transaction both secures the benefits for the Ockham pension scheme members and is also in the best interests of LV’s 1 million+ members”.

LCP partner, Gareth Davies, also emphasised the importance of scheme preparation, explaining that the scheme “carefully considered and tailored their market-approach which was rewarded with strong insurer engagement and attractive proposals from multiple insurers”.

“It highlights that even in the current busy market good preparation and the right strategy pays off and leads to a good result for a scheme and its members,” he said.

This was echoed by Just Group DB Business Development Manager, Kishan Radia, who stated: “This was a great team effort with high levels of collaboration to deliver the transaction successfully in a vibrant, busy market, that’s working for schemes of all sizes.

“Working closely with the trustees’ advisers we tailored our proposition to meet the needs of the scheme, who locked into an agreed portfolio of assets and transferred those assets to Just.

“We are very proud to have completed this transaction, securing the benefits of c700 members of the Ockham Pension Scheme.”

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